Stanford Football DC Bobby April III Talks About Upcoming Season

Dylan Grausz | Aug 4, 2024

Oct 22, 2015; London, United Kingdom; Buffalo Bills linebackers coach Bobby April III at practice at the Grove hotel in preparation for the NFL International Series game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

The first week of Stanford Cardinal training camp is in the books and with the team being in the early stages of pads, a lot of progress and development is currently taking place. It was a productive week all around, with both the offense and defense putting in some strong work as the lead up to the season continues.

We spoke with defensive coordinator Bobby April III at the end of the week to discuss a number of topics. Here are some of the takeaways from week one.

Stanford in a good spot

The early days of training camp can be tough, especially in college football when a new-look roster takes the field together in pads for the first time, with growing pains showing in the first few practices. And while there has been some of that occurring this year, there has also been a lot of signs of fast growth. The first couple of practices have shown just how physical and aggressive this defense can be, giving off a sense that they are much further along already than anyone thought they would be.

“We saw a lot of things that we were hoping to see,” April said. “Some physicality, some toughness showing up. The mental mistakes and the ability to form up and make tackles is an area that we’re going to continue to focus on and I do like where we’re at. We are way further along than we’ve been so we feel really good.”

Eager to turn heads in their first season in the ACC, the Cardinal will continue putting in the hard work so that they are prepared for the new competition, and with a team full of veterans on the defense, confidence is high.

Cardinal leaders are emerging

At this point last season, the players had to learn a whole new scheme with April and the rest of the coaching staff being brand new and implementing their new system. But this year, things are drastically different, as the players seem to not only have the system down, but April is starting to see guys begin to really emerge as true leaders.

“All these guys are completely in,” April said. “They were in before, but they have a voice themselves. And year two of a system, it allows them to speak what the issues are together, as opposed to us teaching it to them as we go. We can always compare things, too. For instance, we can bring back a game or a situation that happened in the past, where last year, that was the situation that had happened and so that’s been a big part of it.”

Leadership is key for any team looking to achieve greatness, and with a plethora of veterans on the team combined with them really emerging as the heart and soul of the defense, things are looking very promising in Palo Alto.

Early camp standouts

Training camp is the time for players to separate themselves from all the rest and prove that they deserve a chance to be impact players. And while guys such as David Bailey and Wilfredo Aybar have been early standouts through the early days of camp, there have been plenty of others as well who have shown a tremendous amount of growth.

“Those guys are really hungry and their ability to rush the passer has been pretty impressive,” April said. “I thought the two inside linebackers are doing a good job with their command of the defense. And Collin Wright has been lights out at the corner position. The two safeties have been really good, Scotty [Edwards] has come a long way. Coming in last year and getting a couple starts, and now slated to start, he’s done a great job. And I feel like Mitch Leigber has been really good too. I’m excited about where we’re trending for sure.”

Bailey and Wright were key contributors on last year’s team and while they certainly will be expected to do the same this year, having multiple other players stand out puts the team in a good spot in terms of who they can trust to come up big in key moments.

New conference not fazing Stanford

A new conference means new competition and while the level of that competition will certainly be stiff and provide the Cardinal with a new challenge, the approach has been the same with the excitement for the opportunity evident all around camp. 

“We’re aware of the talent that we’re going to be facing,” April said. “I don’t think it’s a nerve issue, though. We’re excited about the opportunity and we know we’re gonna be put on a stage that we’re excited about.”

Expected to play teams such as Syracuse and Clemson, which are both road games, the Cardinal will find themselves in new environments this year, but that has only made their desire to be great grow even more.